HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said.

She said the man came "within inches to a foot" of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

"Fearing for his partner's safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon," Silva told The Associated Press.

Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

"He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it," Garcia told the newspaper.

Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department. He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.

Houston police records indicate that Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009. Investigators at the time said Marin came upon a man stabbing his neighbor to death at an apartment complex and opened fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife.

On Saturday, Marin and his partner arrived at the group home around 2:30 a.m. Silva said there were several people at the house at the time. The caretaker who called police waited on the porch while the officers went inside, she said.

"It was close quarters in the area of the house," Silva said. "The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out."

I don't really think it was out of line what the Police did, I mean they were cornered, the man was threatening them, he had pen in his hand (But what if it was a shank), Maybe they really didn't see another option. You guys gotta remember the type of people these cops deal with on a day to day basis, just the shittiest forms of scum so they will always be on edge!

What really saddens me about this though is that the man had a mental illness. There have been a number of documented cases in the past where officers have misunderstood the handicap's intentions or that he is unable to control how he is acting.

I don't really think it was out of line what the Police did, I mean they were cornered, the man was threatening them, he had pen in his hand (But what if it was a shank), Maybe they really didn't see another option. You guys gotta remember the type of people these cops deal with on a day to day basis, just the shittiest forms of scum so they will always be on edge!

What really saddens me about this though is that the man had a mental illness. There have been a number of documented cases in the past where officers have misunderstood the handicap's intentions or that he is unable to control how he is acting.

Still sad the whole thing!

I don't know who is more retarded : the officer for killing a double amputee on weelchair who was treatening him with a pen or you for justify the cop that killed him !

I don't know who is more retarded : the officer for killing a double amputee on weelchair who was treatening him with a pen or you for justify the cop that killed him !

They didn't know it was a pen, all they knew is that this man was being very hostile and threatening the officer verbally and he was trying to stab him. When you are a cop, you are trained to act fast and take no risks, they did what they were trained to do. It was a judgement call.

Its not like he just shot him just to be an asshole, he shot him because he thought him and his partners life were in jeopardy!

It sucks and its a shitty situation! But not being in the cop's shoes its very easy to sit here online and point fingers, I repeat... day in and day out these cops deal with the lowest of the low, so they are always on edge and always have their guard up!

They didn't know it was a pen, all they knew is that this man was being very hostile and threatening the officer verbally and he was trying to stab him. When you are a cop, you are trained to act fast and take no risks, they did what they were trained to do. It was a judgement call.

If he was close enough to stab someone with a Bic, the cop was close enough to see it wasn't a knife. So the cop is a complete pussy, who couldn't subdue a guy with only one arm and leg.

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Its not like he just shot him just to be an asshole, he shot him because he thought him and his partners life were in jeopardy!

It sucks and its a shitty situation! But not being in the cop's shoes its very easy to sit here online and point fingers, I repeat... day in and day out these cops deal with the lowest of the low, so they are always on edge and always have their guard up!

If they can't deal with that, they should get into the rent-a-cop business or take up professional bowling.

[edit]No, I'm not a liberal softy. I'm pro death in many cases, but this clearly isn't one of them. Also, what about less-lethal tazers, or mace? Why did this coward grab his gun first? If the guy had been waving a gun, then blowing him away would be the right thing to do. If the cop couldn't see that because he was too busy screaming, then he doesn't have the skills to be a cop.

In reality I would bet that the staff and the other residents are grateful to the cop for dusting his ass.

Yes I bet he was a right pest and made a lot of noise. This is why we used to have so many mental asylums to keep them away from decent people.Bring back the asylums and we wont have incidents like this. Integrating their people into society is the cause if this, if he was in his padded cell he would still be alive today.

Despite falling violent crime rates, police are more and more armed with military-grade equipment(like...why does some suburbia with manicured lawns need a PD that has an armored personnel carrier?). They are also uniform in appearance.....super short hair or bald with shaved arms.....the older cops and fat women are sent to the airport to stand around and stare at traffic all day. Neurotic and uptight, these cops are walking around in your neighborhood with the same mentality of a soldier or Marine doing a patrol of Fallujah. In addition, they love to hire ex-military personnel who did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan....which should be a huge no-no in a job where "public service" is warranted.

It would also appear that many of these cops have never done a decent time's worth of being a correctional officer....unarmed and locked INSIDE with actual convicted criminals. With their bat belt, snazzy new dodge charger, and a plethora of weapons at their disposal, these cops look for any excuse to gun someone down, from dogs to amputees in wheelchairs.

I hope this officer gets convicted and loses his job at the very least and the department getting sued. People justifying this behavior are almost equally as pathetic(esp. when they do not have any experience within law enforcement).

They didn't know it was a pen, all they knew is that this man was being very hostile and threatening the officer verbally and he was trying to stab him. When you are a cop, you are trained to act fast and take no risks, they did what they were trained to do. It was a judgement call.

Its not like he just shot him just to be an asshole, he shot him because he thought him and his partners life were in jeopardy!

It sucks and its a shitty situation! But not being in the cop's shoes its very easy to sit here online and point fingers, I repeat... day in and day out these cops deal with the lowest of the low, so they are always on edge and always have their guard up!

As someone else said, if he was close enough to feel threatened that he may be stabbed, then he was close enough to know it was a pen.

Second, there was apparently 2 officers there, since one officer was scared for his partners life. 2 officers couldnt take down a man with arm and one leg without killing him.

Third, the lowest of the lowest low? They were called to a GROUP HOME. Did they really think they were going to encounter serial killers and rapists there? Its not like this incident took place in a high crime rate location. They knew it was a group home. I assure you if the guy was the lowest of the low, he would not be in a group home.

She said the man came "within inches to a foot" of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

Remain still? The man's whole existence is practically in a still position. He has the ability to basically move 1 bodypart and use it as a weapon (his 1 arm).

They should train more cops on how to defend themselves by using martial arts tactics. A simple grabbing of the arm to move it away from the body may have saved the mentally unstable man's life. You don't mess with a police officer... but you shouldn't be killed for it.

I don't really think it was out of line what the Police did, I mean they were cornered, the man was threatening them, he had pen in his hand (But what if it was a shank), Maybe they really didn't see another option. You guys gotta remember the type of people these cops deal with on a day to day basis, just the shittiest forms of scum so they will always be on edge!

What really saddens me about this though is that the man had a mental illness. There have been a number of documented cases in the past where officers have misunderstood the handicap's intentions or that he is unable to control how he is acting.

Still sad the whole thing!

Sir! I hope the Redskins lose every game they play for the next 37 years.